19. Marcus
Marcus
“Why are you doing this, Marcus? Wasting your time chasing me?” Madison whispered, her eyes drifting to the side, unable to look at me. “You could have—”
“Any girl in the world… Except I don’t want a girl, Mads. I want you.” She still didn’t look in my direction, and I sighed, turning her chin to face me as I dragged my thumb across her bottom lip. “You’re all I ever wanted, even though for years I was convinced that I didn’t need it.”
I was content being alone, doing as I pleased without being tied down to one person. But the moment she pulled me into her life, I knew it was game over.
Madison was silent as she stared into my eyes, her beautiful ice blue gaze sparkling from the unshed tears that filled them. I didn’t need her to speak; I wanted her just to listen for once instead of constantly pushing me away .
“Adrian manipulated me… through love.” Her voice cracked as she spoke, and my heart followed through with the sound.
“Adrian, as in your ex Adrian?” Looking back on it, it was a stupid question, but it was all I could think to ask…
What do you say to that? To hear that the woman you loved was too scared to love you in return because some sick motherfucker out there used her vice as a tool for abuse and control…
“I was supposed to marry him. He proposed. I still have the ring, even though I don’t know why...” Her words felt hollow, as if the memory of that day still plagued her, even now.
“What made you change your mind?”
“Chyler… and Alexis.” Madison brought her hand up to caress my cheek as I held her tightly in my arms. “But primarily Chyler… She told me I was too good for him and that someone better was waiting for me—as cheesy as that sounds.”
“Did you believe them?”
“If you had asked me that same question back then… I would have said no.”
“And now?”
Madison paused, pressing her lips together as she searched my eyes and face. I could feel her committing every pore and fine line to memory before her gaze landed on my mouth.
“Baby boy…” Her eyes softened as she bit her bottom lip and pulled herself over my body, my back now flush against the mattress. “I don’t keep men around for no good reason—and sex is never a reason.”
Her soft lips brushed up against mine, and I parted them to let her in. Madison told me everything I wanted to hear; the words themselves didn’t matter—actions spoke louder.
Dean: Get in touch with that Sergeant Drake guy. Alexis is missing.
Dean: This is his one shot at Anathema if he still wants them.
I had just finished my workout at the gym when I pulled my phone from my locker and saw two urgent text messages from Dean. I couldn’t resist the shit-eating grin that tugged at the corner of my mouth.
My all too-happy attitude wasn’t for Alexis and her—most likely—dire situation. No, it was because I knew that I was finally getting another chance to see some action again, just like before.
Without wasting a second, I quickly changed out of my gym clothes, stuffing everything I had brought into my bag before slamming the locker door shut and running out of the locker room. There was no chance in hell that I would miss out on an opportunity like this.
When I reached my car, I threw my gym bag in the back seat and grabbed my phone from my back pocket. I pulled up Drake’s contact information and immediately called his number as I dropped my ass into the driver’s seat.
I was shaking from the rush of excitement. I could barely keep my hands still as I started my Dodge Charger and gripped the steering wheel in an attempt to calm my firing nerves.
“You’re not supposed to contact me, kid.” Drake’s grumpy ass voice answered with a deep sigh of annoyance. “That number was for—”
“Yeah, yeah, look… You still want to get your hands on Anathema and their leader, right?” I snapped, interrupting Drake and his superiority attitude complex, gritting my teeth as I turned out of the parking lot and transferred the Bluetooth to my car.
“I’m listening…”
“Dean needs your help; it sounds like they plan on going after Anathema.”
“When?”
“I don’t know, he didn’t say?” I huffed, rolling my eyes. “My best guess is within the next twenty-four hours.”
It wouldn’t be like Dean to request that I get a hold of Drake so urgently if they weren’t ready to storm into action.
“Get your ass, and Dean’s, down to Alpha-Six. And in the meantime, I’ll see what I can do on my end.” Drake abruptly hung up, with no further instruction needed.
Switching my grip on the steering wheel, I searched for Dean’s number on the screen and pressed the green call button next to his name, hoping that he would pick up and not send me straight to voicemail .
“What did he say?” Dean answered on the first ring.
He was definitely anticipating my call if he answered that fast.
“We need to meet Drake down at his office.” I sighed, scratching my brow with the back of my thumb as I navigated my way through the inner city.
“Right now?”
“Right now.”
There was a brief pause and silence on the other end of the call before Dean sighed heavily.
“Give me an hour… I’ll update you on everything at the apartment before we meet with Sergeant Drake.”
I groaned as Dean hung up the phone.
An hour? I left the gym in a rush for this? To just sit on my ass and wait for Dean to get home? For fuck sake…
Dean showed up earlier than expected, which was more than fine by me. I was ready to get the fuck out of here and dive head-first into the action.
Taking out an entire underground secret society most certainly wouldn’t be boring in the least. Check that shit right off my bucket list.
“So… what’s going on?” I asked as Dean ran a hand through his hair and shut the door .
I had my ass parked up against the kitchen island, ankles and arms crossed, as if I had been standing here for hours just waiting for him to show up.
In truth, I had been standing in this position since I got home, bored to fucking tears.
“Long story short… Derek has been fucking around with Alexis, and our outside informant, Eli Wilder, just threw her reckless ass under the bus. Apparently, she’s been recruited into Anathema and has since disappeared for lack of a better word.”
“Does Madison know?… About Alexis, I mean.”
She never mentioned anything to me, but I guess, then again, she was never an open book when we were together— except for that one night…
“She was there when Eli broke the news to Derek, but beforehand? Not a clue. She didn’t even know Derek and Alexis were that close.”
“Did you know he was screwing her?” I couldn’t help but pry with my follow-up question. I enjoyed hearing office gossip; the receptionists back at the CIA were full of it. A new story every other morning.
Atlas had run off with Chyler, Derek was chasing Alexis, and Dean and I were figuring our shit out with Madison. You couldn’t make this shit up.
We were all living in a movie—or dream.
The four—lucky as fuck—CIA agents who fell for the three women they were tasked to arrest for violent crimes. I guess we all like to stick our dicks near hornets' nests .
“Not until two days ago, and let me just say… That’s a short story on its own, but unfortunately, we don’t have time for it right now, so let’s get the fuck over to Sergeant Drake’s office and see what he has planned.”
“Now you’re speaking my language, bro.” I grabbed my keys before pushing myself off the counter and swaggering towards the door where Dean was still standing.
“I’ll drive because, for the first time in what feels like years, I know something you don’t.
” I teased with a wide grin as I opened the door and stepped out of the apartment.
Dean sarcastically rolled his eyes as he chuckled and followed me out of our building to the car.
“Since when did the CIA start protecting contract killers like Alexis Lochlan?” Drake addressed Dean and me as we entered his office.
“How do you know who she is?” Dean quizzed, crossing his arms over his chest as he stopped in front of the desk, not even bothering to take a seat.
I followed Dean into the room, stopping beside him and facing Drake, who remained comfortably seated and relaxed.
“Alexis has hacked the Minneapolis PD system more times than I’d like to count. Should I assume that Madison and Chyler are also involved in this? ”
How the hell did he know all three of these women?
“Only with the interest of saving Alexis. They’re not working with Anathema if that’s what you’re asking.” Dean’s demeanor was all business, with one goal: to rescue Alexis. Taking down Adrian and Anathema was Drake’s bonus from it.
“Fucking Christ…” Drake grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger. “With Charlotte gone, I assumed those three would finally be out of my hair. Evidently, I was wrong—”
“Why has it taken this long for you to do anything about Anathema? You can’t tell me you didn’t have the resources to stop them sooner.” Dean rushed out his words, cutting Drake off.
“What would you do if a group of murderers came into your city and started ridding it of those you had no legal authority to touch? Anathema was like unleashing feral cats into the streets to eliminate the plague of rats we weren’t allowed to poison.”
“So you just let this secret society run the fucking show because you wanted a clean city?” Dean scoffed, rolling his eyes in disagreement with Drake’s thinking.
“I’m failing to see how two wrongs make a right here…” I added under my breath, sounding more like a mumble if anything.
“You two can think and believe what you want, but at the end of the day, they were doing this city a service that we felt was necessary.”
“And now?” I questioned, arching my brow at him .
“And now that Adrian has assumed control of Anathema, he is taking things too far. Instead of being mere vigilantes, they are now working to control everything—a dictatorship.”
Dean’s phone went off, and he checked it before returning his full attention back to Drake with a deep sigh.
“That was Derek. I need to go. How soon can you execute your plan?”
“I don’t know if there is anything we can even execute as of right now. I’m still working on it. I need enough guys to infiltrate their ranks without making it obvious or giving our plan away…”
“So what you are saying is, this was a total waste of my time? Great…” Dean hissed, squeezing his phone in his hand, grinding his teeth out of anger and frustration.
“I said I was still working on it. Go. Do whatever Derek needs you to do, but say nothing of what we discussed here.”
“Like that would be hard to do…” Dean huffed before turning to leave. “I’ll update you as soon as I can.” He whispered to me, patting my shoulder and squeezing it before exiting the room.
“I’m a man of my word, Dean. I will figure something out.” Drake added just as Dean passed through the threshold.
Un-fucking-fair.
“What do you mean I have to fucking stay here?” I barked as Drake and the rest of his squad finished gearing up for their raid on Anathema.
“Exactly what I said, kid. You’re a liability, and we can’t take any chances.” Drake shrugged as he fitted his black leather gloves over his hands.
“Look, you’ve got a radio and can watch the live feed through Davidson’s GoPro. It will be like you are right there in the thick of it all… but not.”
“That’s not the fucking same, and you know it,” I shouted, ready to flip the chair in front of me out of pure rage.
Why did I expect any less? I should have automatically assumed that I wouldn’t be allowed to go with—that I would be stuck here in this room like some fucking child left at daycare.
“You want to play the hero, Marcus? Here’s the thing about heroes: they only do things if it earns them clout, and I will not be held responsible for you dying just because you needed an adrenaline high.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, clamping my mouth shut from another smart-ass rebuttal. I was fucking pissed, but Dean needed Drake’s help, and I was only delaying the process the longer I protested.
I watched the rest of the officers as they pulled on thick, deep red cloaks to conceal their identities and uniforms. Rifles and guns were being tucked out of sight, and Drake checked over each officer to ensure nothing was out of place .
“This mic is linked to Davidson’s earpiece. If you see anything on the feed, you tell him, and he will relay that information to me. The biggest help you can be tonight is an extra set of eyes and ears.”
“Whatever…” I grumbled as I fell into the empty chair beside me and stared at the monitor displaying Davidson’s camera feed.
I guess this was better than being told to go home…